Hide and Seek by Cally Larson
~Prologue~
He hasn’t been the same since he came back home.
And if you didn’t know him like I do, then you couldn’t have been able to tell, because he’s a wonderful actor and his mask will never fall out of place in public.
His footsteps were always brisk and knowing, sure of where his destination would be, and what he had to accomplish.
Now, they are soft and timid, and his eyes are diverted towards his shoelaces, rather than looking the world face-on like he used to.
He won’t ever stand center of attention at a party anymore, he prefers to slip in through the back and hide in the corner, if he even goes at all.
You used to be able to hear his booming voice for miles, but now it’s barely over a whisper, and he will never look you in the eye.
This is what he is like now.
On-stage it’s different, because he still has his old personality stored for these occasions.
Once out of the public eye, he tucks it back into a box until next time.
And I miss the way things used to be, the laughter, the fun-
I’d even take the tantrums back if that’s what it took.
I miss him.
The real him.
This hollow, scared child that I find crying alone in the dark is not who I’ve grown to know and love.
And I wish I could bring him back-
But he’s hidden so well inside of himself that I can do nothing but watch him slowly retreat farther and farther away from everyone, from life.
Ten months since he left, four since he came back home.
Things are so different now, I’m beginning to forget how they used to be.
Sometimes I can see a hint of his happiness trying to escape the darkness, but something shuts down, and it’s stuffed back further from the light.
Someday I will reach him again, he’ll open up and let me carry him out of the shadows.
Then everything will be all right.
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